The San Francisco 49ers have a number of young players who could be viewed as potential breakout candidates. ESPN recently identified second-year cornerback Upton Stout as a breakout player to watch out for.
It would be amazing if Stout breaks out in a big way this upcoming season. He wasn’t perfect, but he showed a lot of promise as a rookie last year in the nickel corner spot, so if he takes that next step forward, that would be really huge for the secondary.
Yet, if he is the breakout player on defense that wouldn’t be the most ideal scenario. The Niners need one of their young edge rushers like Romello Height or Mykel Williams to break out if they truly want to have a big year.
For years and years now, the Niners have struggled to pair Nick Bosa with a truly game-changing edge rusher opposite him. That needs to change if they want to finally get back to being an elite defense.
The Niners will not get back to that level unless they develop a great pass rush. A big reason why they struggled so much last season on defense was because they couldn’t get any pressure on opposing quarterbacks.
Injuries had a big reason to do with that, but even if Bosa and Williams hadn’t gone down with injuries, it’s difficult to see a way in which they would’ve been anything better than middle-of-the-pack when it came to sacks.
If the 49ers could have an above-average pass rush next season, that would transform everything. It would take pressure off everyone else on the field and would make the defensive unit as a whole so much better.
Imagine a world in which Height has 10-plus sacks and Bosa has 15-plus sacks, and the Niners stay fairly healthy on the defensive line. That would be a dream scenario, and it’s why Height is the breakout player San Francisco needs.
He is a true edge rusher whose primary objective is to get after the quarterback. Williams has never been considered a true sack threat, he’s more of a “set the edge” kind of guy, which is valuable to be sure, but Height is a guy who can really get up in a QB’s face.
Maybe if Height is a breakout player and provides the defense with the pass rush it’s been searching for, that will make it easier for Stout to have a breakout year as well. More pressure means more hurried throws, which means more turnovers and could mean Stout’s first career interception.
The Niners will take as many breakout players as they can get, but if they could only pick one, they would be wise to go with an edge rusher rather than a cornerback.
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